A phishing attack is a serious threat to all organisations around the world. When effective cybersecurity practices and solutions are not enforced, organisations run the risk of becoming another cybercrime victim.
Therefore, businesses must take a proactive approach to cybersecurity. IT security leaders need to know how to identify and solve abnormalities in the business’s systems to prevent any damage.
In this article, we look at why organisations still fall victim to phishing attacks and the steps to fight them.
But First, What Is Phishing?
Phishing is a type of cyberattack that everyone should learn about in order to protect themselves and ensure email security.
A type of social engineering attack, cybercriminals use phishing to steal confidential information such as credit card details, bank information and passwords.
Hackers generally pretend to be reputable companies, friends, or acquaintances in a fake message or email. They trick a user into opening a malicious link, which then instals malware into their system.
Moreover, once a hacker enters a business’s system, they can access their online accounts and personal data, compromising connected systems, such as point-of-sale terminals.
Sometimes, they also hijack entire computer networks until a ransom fee is delivered.
Read More: Human Error: The biggest threat to your business
5 Reasons Why Phishing Attacks are So Successful
1. Lack of Awareness
The main reason why phishing attacks are so successful is the lack of employee training on cybersecurity issues such as phishing and malware.
Businesses should train their employees to be cautious of any suspicious emails and messages they receive and know the steps to take if they accidentally open a malicious link.
2. Cybercriminals Are Well-Funded
The massive success that cybercriminals have had in recent years means they have an abundance of funds to invest in scams.
Therefore, they can invest in technical resources to make their scams run more efficiently. For example, they can increase the number of scams they send and enhance the authenticity of their fake messages or the complexity of their campaigns.
It also enables cybercriminals to branch out into new sectors, such as the healthcare industry.
3. Malware Is Becoming More Sophisticated
The old (but effective) technique of luring users into clicking malicious links will soon be overshadowed by much more cunning and hard-to-avoid tactics.
Phishing attacks, CEO fraud, ransomware and more are simply going to get worse without appropriate solutions and processes to defend against them.
4. Low-Cost Phishing Tools Are Easily Available
The availability of phishing tools and the rise of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) has allowed amateurs with little IT knowledge to enter the market and compete with sophisticated criminal organisations.
5. Businesses Are Not Doing Their Due Diligence
Staff awareness training isn’t the only step organisations can take to protect themselves from phishing scams.
Most companies are not doing enough to reduce the risks associated with phishing and ransomware. Here are two examples:
- Insufficient Backup Processes
- In the event of a phishing attack, many organisations do not have a proper backup process. This prevents them from quickly restoring their data on their servers, user workstations and other endpoint devices.
- Lack Of User Testing
- Many businesses do not have proper procedures in place to test their users, leaving them unable to specify which employees are the most susceptible to a phishing attack.
However, by conducting a simulated phishing attack, businesses can determine whether their employees are vulnerable to phishing emails. This enables them to take immediate action to improve their cybersecurity strategy.
Read More: What’s Your Contingency Plan when Endpoint Devices are lost?
7 Tips To Help Prevent A Phishing Attack
- Monitor your online accounts regularly
- Keep your browser updated
- Do not open email links from unknown sources
- Be wary of pop-up windows
- Never give out personal information over email
- Be mindful of social and emotional lures
- Stay updated on the latest phishing attacks
Protect Your Data Against Phishing
While phishing attacks are difficult to tackle, you can minimise your risk of falling victim to scammers by consulting a cybersecurity expert.
Aegis is a trusted cloud service provider in Malaysia with comprehensive data backup solutions. Our 1Price-Any-Technologies (1PAT) service empowers businesses to own a robust cloud backup and disaster recovery solution at an affordable price.
We also provide a Security Operations Centre (SOC) as part of our disaster recovery solutions.
Be it data disaster recovery or SOC, Aegis provides fully managed data protection services to our customers. Our goal is to help enterprises determine their areas of weakness and reduce data breach risks with our industry-standard services.
